Windows 8 In Depth

When Good Networks Go Bad

As part of my software consulting work, I end up doing a fair bit of network support for my clients. And every time I get a call from a client with a network problem, I cringe. I never know whether it’s going to take 10 minutes or a week to fix. Sometimes the problem isn’t so bad; I’ve fixed more than one “broken” computer by turning it on. If such an easy fix doesn’t present itself immediately, though, a bit of a cold sweat breaks out on my forehead. The problem could be anything. How does one even start to find a nasty problem in the maze of cards, wires, drivers, and hidden, inexplicable system services? And it’s difficult enough debugging the stuff that belongs there. What if viruses, adware, or rootkits are messing ...